


Unbreak My Heart

by T_Ninja



Category: Person of Interest (TV)
Genre: Angst, Doctor AU, F/F, Fluff, Grey’s Anatomy crossover, Humor, shoot week
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-26
Updated: 2018-02-02
Packaged: 2018-11-05 04:08:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11005656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/T_Ninja/pseuds/T_Ninja
Summary: Shaw is the chief of general surgery at Mercy hospital in New York. Life seems to be going pretty well for her until a new arrival unexpectedly shakes things up.





	1. There’s a New Doctor in Town

Sameen Shaw stood in front of the vending machine, considering her options of chocolate bars. She had just come out of surgery after seven hours, in which she managed to resuscitate the patient after he flatlined twice.

"Hey Yang," she looked over to the doctor sitting on a gurney next to her, "do you think it's okay for me to be eating a chocolate bar when I talk to the Loftins?"

Her colleague Cristina Yang looked up from her crossword puzzle. "That depends. Did he die?"

"Nope, pulled him out of death's clutches at the last minute. He's in stable condition now."

Yang shrugged. "Shouldn't be a problem, then."

Shaw turned back to the vending machine and punched in the combination for the chocolate bar: 3-1-4-1. The candy bar dropped into the slot and Shaw bent down to retrieve it.

"See you at Fusco's in an hour?" she said to Yang.

"Yup."

Shaw nodded, unwrapped her chocolate bar and took a huge bite before heading into the waiting room to deliver the news to her patient's family.

Shaw and Yang were chief attending surgeons at Mercy Hospital in New York; the best surgeons in their respective specialties. Yang was a prodigy in cardio thoracic surgery while Shaw was a legend in general surgery. The two of them were seen as gods in the hospital, revered and feared by all on the surgical floor.

An hour after delivering the news to Mr. Loftin's family and awkwardly enduring their hugs of gratitude, Shaw headed to Fusco's bar across from the hospital for her usual post-shift drink. Yang was already there sitting at their usual spot at the bar.

"Next time I deliver good news to my patients’ families, I'm bringing an intern with me so that they can get all the hugs," Shaw huffed as she pulled out the barstool next to Yang and hopped on.

"Tell me about it," Yang said, knocking back a shot of tequila and sucking on a slice of lime. "I narrowly avoided half a dozen hugs today alone. I hate telling people that their family member survived surgery."

"Y'know, you two are the craziest broads I've ever met," Lionel Fusco, the owner of the bar said as he slid two shots of tequila across the bar to Shaw and Yang. "I don't know if I'm supposed to admire you or be afraid of you."

"The correct answer would be both," Shaw said, shooting him a wink before clinking her glass with Yang’s and downing her shot of tequila.

"So we're going to meet the new Chief of Neuro tomorrow," Yang mused, sliding her empty shot glass across the bar to Fusco.

"Yeah, some big shot genius who just transferred here from L.A.," Shaw muttered.

"Wait a minute. Aren't you two big shot geniuses too?" Fusco asked, sliding two more shots of tequila across to the women.

"Yeah, but we've been here for years, people know that we're the real deal. We don't really know anything about this Sam Groves guy that's coming in. All we have so far is a name. We work in a very hostile environment, Fusco; Yang and I take bets every year on how long it takes before the new interns start to cry." She turned to Yang and clinked their tequila shots before downing them.

Fusco shook his head. "I think I know what makes it such a hostile environment," he mumbled.

Yang caught sight of something across the room and elbowed Shaw in the ribs to get her attention. "Hey Shaw. Your four o'clock. Hot brunette checking you out."

Shaw turned slightly to catch a glimpse of the brunette in her peripheral vision. Yang was right, the woman was pretty hot. And she had long legs that were more than just a little distracting.

"Well, I'm done for the night," Yang said, hopping off of her barstool. "See you tomorrow, Shaw - don't stay up too late tonight," she slapped Shaw playfully on the back and put down a few bills for her drinks.

As she walked out of the bar, Yang approached the brunette who was sitting at a table by herself. Out of her peripheral, Shaw saw Yang lean in to say something to the brunette while gesturing at Shaw with her chin before turning around and leaving. The brunette nodded before standing up and walking towards Shaw.

"Your friend suggested that I keep you company after she left," the brunette said, sliding into Yang’s recently vacated seat next to Shaw. "But I have a feeling that you probably don't have a hard time finding company."

Shaw smirked. Hot brunette is a smooth talker.

"I do alright," Shaw said, turning in her seat to look at the woman. Which was a mistake, because now she found herself mesmerized and unable to look away. The honey brown eyes staring into her own instantly drew her in like a magnet.

Shaw cleared her throat. "So, uh, do you come here often? I don't think I've seen you around before." As soon as the words left her mouth, Shaw wanted to facepalm. This was the most cliché thing she had ever said in her life.

The brunette chuckled. "I just moved here a few days ago for work. I thought I'd check out the neighborhood."

"Well Fusco's is a good place to hang out," Shaw said, "cheap drinks and decent food."

"Don't forget the good looking owner-slash-bartender," Fusco said, collecting the empty shot glass in front of Shaw. He turned to Root. "What can I get for ya?"

"I'll have a strawberry margarita, please," the brunette answered. "And another tequila shot here for..."

"Shaw," Shaw answered. "Sameen Shaw."

The brunette smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Sameen. You can call me Root."

Shaw nodded. "Thanks for the drink, Root," she raised her shot glass and threw it back. "Next one's on me.”  
....

Several hours (and several rounds) later, Shaw was feeling pleasantly buzzed. Root had been constantly touching her arm flirtatiously all night, and although Shaw was never big into touchy feely people, she found that she didn't mind it whenever Root's warm palm landed on her forearm. It was getting late and Shaw considered her options: she could either go home now and go to bed, or she could test the waters with Root. And judging by the way Root's fingers traced patterns on her arm, Shaw was willing to bet that Root was just as game as she was.

Shaw leaned in slightly and lowered her voice. "Do you wanna get outta here?"

Root smirked. "I thought you'd never ask."

....

They barely made it out of the bar before Root grabbed Shaw's arm and yanked her back, shoving her up against the brick wall.

Oh, so it's gonna be that kind of party.

Root pinned Shaw to the wall with her hips and bracketed her hands on either side of Shaw's head. She leaned down and lightly brushed her bottom lip over Shaw's, inviting her to play. Shaw did not need much convincing, surging upwards and capturing the taller woman's lips with her own. The kiss was electric; Shaw wasn't sure whether it was the alcohol thrumming through her veins or Root's soft lips, but when they finally pulled away for air, she felt a bit lightheaded.

Root leaned in to nibble on an earlobe. "My place or yours?" she whispered hotly into Shaw's ear.

"My place is just around the corner," Shaw said.

They stumbled their way back to Shaw's apartment building. The stumbling was partially due to the alcohol and partially due to the fact that they were barely able to take their hands off of each other. They finally made it up to Shaw's apartment and things progressed very quickly from there.

….

Several hours (and several rounds) later, they were lying tangled in the sheets in Shaw's bed catching their breaths.

Root propped her head up on one elbow. "Well that didn't suck."

Shaw smirked. "Oh, there was plenty of sucking." Shaw caught sight of the time on the alarm clock on her night table. It was time for Root to leave. "Look, Root, I had a really good time but-"

"Sorry, sweetie. I'd love to stay and chat but I have to leave," Root interrupted, getting out of bed and rummaging for the clothes that she'd discarded earlier.

"Uhhhh okay." Shaw said uncertainly. This was a lot easier than expected. Usually there was way more convincing involved.

"Do you need me to call you a cab or anything?" Shaw asked.

"Nope, I'm good." Root replied, pulling on her jeans and shirt. She walked back to the bed and patted Shaw on the arm. "This was really fun. I'll see you around," she said with a grin before turning on her heel and walking out of the apartment.

Shaw got up to lock the door once Root had left.

Huh. That worked out kind of perfectly; the drinks were great, the sex was _great_ , and she didn't even have to kick Root out of her apartment. Shaw padded back into her bedroom and climbed into bed. She had to be up in a few hours for work to meet the new Neuro guy.

....

Shaw yawned as she and Yang stood amongst a crowd of hospital staff gathered around the flight of stairs where important announcements were usually made. They were waiting for Joss Carter, the Chief of Surgery at the hospital, to arrive and introduce the new Neuro guy.

Yang looked over and raised a knowing eyebrow. "Late night, Shaw?"

"Just the usual, Yang."

Yang smirked. "So you hit it off with the leggy brunette, I take it."

"Dr. Yang, am I interrupting something?" Carter called from her elevated position on the stair landing.

Yang straightened up. "No ma'am. Just conferring with Dr. Shaw about a joint case."

"Well you can confer at a later time," Carter scolded. She then turned her attention back to the rest of the hospital staff. "Everyone, I'd like to introduce you to Dr. Sam Groves, your new Chief of Neuro. Dr. Groves is one of the best neurosurgeons in the country, recently moving from Los Angeles to accept this position. Dr. Groves, please come on up and say a few words about yourself."

Shaw could only see the back of Dr. Groves as the new doctor ascended the stairs to take position next to Chief Carter. The first thing that Shaw noticed was that Sam Groves was not a dude - if the bouncy brown locks of hair were any indication. Realization dawned on Shaw as Dr. Groves turned around to address the hospital staff.

"Hey Shaw?"

"Yang."

"Isn't that..."

"Yup."

"Holy shit."

"Yup."

"You...boinked the new Chief of Neuro." Yang tried - and failed - to stifle a snort.

Shaw turned slowly to glare at Yang. "This. Is. Not. Funny. Yang."

"Correction: this is not funny to you; it's hilarious to me," Yang said, cackling.

"Dr. Yang! Do you want to let the rest of us in on your joke with Dr. Shaw?"

"It's nothing, ma'am.” Yang turned to the new doctor. “Apologies, Dr. Groves. Please continue."

Dr. Groves - or Root, as she had introduced herself to Shaw - smiled politely. "I'm so very happy to have accepted this position at this prestigious hospital. I've only moved here a few days ago, but I've already met some amazing people who have shown me some amazing things."

Shaw could have sworn that Root looked directly at her when she said this and had maybe punctuated her sentence with a wink. Or maybe it was just a blink. It was hard to tell from this distance.

"I look forward to working closely with all of you, and especially with my fellow surgeons. I feel like there is a lot that we can learn from each other," Root concluded.

"Oh, she is definitely eye fucking you right now," Yang whispered out of the corner of her mouth to Shaw.

"Shut up, Yang!" Shaw whispered back.

"Thank you, Dr. Groves. I'm sure everyone here will show you a warm welcome," Carter said.

"Looks like you already beat everyone to the punch in that department," Yang sniggered, earning a sharp jab to the ribs from Shaw.

Carter dismissed the meeting and the crowd started to disperse. Root started walking towards Shaw and Yang.

"Oh crap, she's coming this way. You're on your own. Bye!" Yang turned and quickly walked away before Shaw could grab her by the sleeve of her lab coat.

"Dr. Shaw. It's so nice to finally meet you - officially," Root said. "I've read your file, and I'm kind of a big fan. You are a brilliant surgeon and one of the reasons why I decided to accept this position. Of course I didn't anticipate your skills _outside_ of the operating room - but I'm not complaining."

And there it was again. That not-quite wink that Shaw saw earlier. This woman definitely does not know how to properly wink. But she definitely knew how to do other things. Very well.

Shaw shook her head. Now is not the time to get distracted.

"Root - Dr. Groves, whatever your name is - why didn't you tell me that you were the new Neuro guy?"

"You didn't ask. And I'm not a guy."

"So you knew that we were going to be coworkers the whole time and you didn't think to tell me?" Shaw huffed. Well, that does explain why Root was so skilled with that scalpel last night when they were in the middle of…

Shaw shook her head again. This day was not going well.

"I have to get to surgery. What happened last night was...it was a mistake. I don't sleep with coworkers - no matter how hot they are. No offence, Root - you're hot. Really hot. And you're good with a scalpel - two things I greatly admire. But you and me together would be like a four alarm fire in an oil refinery."

Root grinned. "Sounds cozy."

Shaw rolled her eyes. "I have a surgery to get to. I'll see you around." She turned around to leave and abruptly turned back. "As coworkers," she clarified, narrowing her eyes at Root as the tall brunette shot her a smirk. Shaw threw her hands up and stomped away, all of the hospital staff throwing themselves up against the wall to steer clear of her path.

....

After her surgery, Shaw went to the supply room to grab an extra set of scrubs, having had blood splattered all over the ones that she was currently wearing. Shaw walked up to the shelf containing the scrubs and growled; whoever restocks the shelves always stores the smaller sizes up top. She stood up on her tiptoes and stretched up to grab a set from the top shelf when she suddenly felt a warm body pressed up against her back.

"Let me help you with that, sweetie," Root said as she reached over Shaw's outstretched arm and brought down a set of scrubs in Shaw's size. Shaw turned around and Root handed the scrubs to her with a smirk.

"I had that handled," Shaw said as she snatched the scrubs out of Root's hand.

"I was just trying to be helpful to my fellow coworkers," Root replied, still smirking.

"It would be helpful if you weren't all up in my personal space," Shaw said.

"I don't see you moving away," Root challenged.

"Why should _I_ move? You're the one who's in my space. _You_ move."

"You know what I think, Sameen? I think you're not moving because you. like. me. Admit it, we're really good together. We have undeniable chemistry. You know how to push my buttons...and I know how to push yours." Root leaned in imperceptibly closer.

Shaw was beginning to feel a bit lightheaded. She wasn't sure if it was because being this close to Root was intoxicating or whether it was because she just got out of another seven-hour surgery and her blood sugar was running low. It was probably both.

Shaw glared up challengingly at Root, her fiery eyes meeting Root's playful ones. After a moment, her eyes glanced down lower and zoned in on Root's lips. Shaw thought back to when those lips were just on hers, merely hours ago.

 _Ah fuck it_ , Shaw thought and tossed the set of scrubs onto the shelf, grabbing Root by the back of her neck and pulling her down to press their lips together. Shaw felt Root smirk against her mouth - almost as if she knew this was going to happen - but she was too lost in the moment to care at this point. Root shoved Shaw back against the shelf, causing her to grunt as her back hit the metal structure.

"Root...this...is..." Shaw tried to say in between kisses, but Root's lips were soft and warm against hers, and all coherent thoughts left Shaw's brain the moment their tongues met.

Root reached down and began to fumble with the drawstring on Shaw's pants. After several unsuccessful attempts at untying the knot, Shaw started to get impatient and reached down to help untie the drawstring.

"You know, for a brilliant neurosurgeon, your dexterity really sucks," Shaw taunted.

Root grinned. "Well I guess I'll just have to remind you how dexterous I can be.”

"Uhhhhhh Dr. Shaw?"

Root and Shaw both froze. Root slowly dropped her hands from Shaw's pants, discreetly smoothed her hair and turned around.

The bewildered looking resident that happened to stumble upon them in the supply room raised his eyebrows in surprise "Oh! Dr Groves! I'm sorry for interrupting-"

"You're not interrupting anything," Shaw said quickly. "I was just - uh - showing Dr. Groves where to find the uh..." Shaw blindly reached behind her and fumbled for the nearest thing that she could get a hold of. She produced the item to the intern which happened to be "Bedpans. Yes. Uh, here you go Dr. Groves," Shaw handed the bedpan to an amused looking Root.

"Thank you, Dr. Shaw. It's so nice to have such nice and accommodating coworkers like you."

There was a stifled snort coming from the direction of the resident.

Shaw glared at the resident. "You got something to say, Bobby?"

"Uhhhh, just that Chief Carter has been looking for you. She couldn't page you, so she sent me to find you."

"Well, you found me. I'll be there in a sec."

Bobby loitered around a bit, unsure if he had permission to leave.

Shaw gestured her head towards the door of the supply room. "Move along, Milhouse. We're done here."

Having been dismissed, Bobby quickly scurried away.

Shaw sighed and turned back to Root, who looked ready to continue where they had left off. "Root, this is a bad idea. We can't do this. Sure, it's fun right now, but we work together and I don't want to be bringing drama into the workplace like those other hospitals that you hear about. Like that one in Seattle."

Root smirked. "There’s no drama if no one knows about it; we can keep it between you and me, sweetie. Besides, that sounds like a lot of fun - sneaking around, quickies in the on-call room in between surgeries - how exciting."

Shaw clenched her jaw in an attempt to hide the fact that she was kind of turned on by the idea of sneaking around with Root. Maybe during a furious make out session she’ll push Root up onto a gurney and-

"Ahem, Dr. Shaw?"

Oh shit.

"Yes...Chief Carter?"

"Bobby Jackson said I could find you here. What did you do to the poor kid? He looked like he got the bejeezus scared out of him."

Carter looked over and saw Root standing in what was now the really crowded supply room. "Oh Dr. Groves! I was hoping to speak to you too! What a coincidence, I- wait, why are you in the supply room?"

"Dr. Shaw was just showing me around the hospital and making sure that I'm familiar with the layout," Root answered with a polite smile.

"Wait,” Carter held a hand up, “Dr. Shaw offered to show you around. Of her own volition," Carter pointed to Shaw, " _This_ Dr. Shaw?"

"Is that so hard to believe? I have my good days," Shaw said, convincing nobody.

Carter narrowed her eyes. "Riiiight. I have yet to see one of those ‘good days.’ Anyway, since I have you both here, I want to talk to you about the Anderson case that you'll be working together on."

Carter turned to Root. "Now, Dr. Shaw may be a bit of a firecracker and difficult to work with-"

"I'm standing right here," Shaw mumbled.

"but she's a brilliant surgeon and the best at what she does. If she gives you a hard time, just whip her ass into shape." Carter finished and winked at Root. "Now, I have to go take care of some business. You two play nice, now." Carter turned on her heel and walked away.

Root turned to Shaw and gave a mock sympathetic shrug. "You heard it, the chief said that I should whip you-"

"That's not what she meant and you know it," Shaw grumbled.

Root waved her hand dismissively. "Semantics. Bottom line is, we're supposed to work together and she wants us to play nice. That is, unless you want to play rough?"

Shaw rolled her eyes and pushed past Root to get out of the supply room. "I have patients to get to."

"Sameen."

"What? And it's Dr. Shaw."

"Oh, so now you want to play doct-"

"No.” Shaw huffed. “What is it that you wanted to say?"

"You forgot your scrubs."

Shaw stomped back into the supply room to grab her scrubs off the shelf and stomped past Root again on her way out.

"Are you sure you don't want me to help with that drawstring? It was tied up really tight," Root called after her, smirking.

Shaw responded with an emphatic middle finger as she continued walking away.

….

"...and then she told me that she read my file and that she was a big fan. So she already knew that I worked here when she met me at the bar. I'm telling you, Yang. This woman is crazy."

"Crazy in love, maybe," Yang snorted.

Shaw and Yang were in the middle of a transplant, speaking in hushed tones to each other as they operated.

"You know I'm not one to sleep around with coworkers, Yang, but now temptation is lurking around every corner. And it's name is Root."

"Wait, who's Root? I thought we were talking about-" Yang leaned over the body on the table and whispered out of the corner of her mouth so that the nurses couldn't hear- "Dr. Groves."

Shaw rolled her eyes. "We are. She introduced herself as Root at the bar and for some reason that name just stuck."

"Okay well I'm going to start calling her McBrainy, just to be discreet."

"McBrainy?"

"Yeah, because apparently she's a genius. Plus, she's a neurosurgeon. Duh."

Shaw shrugged. "I guess that works. Anyway, a week ago my life was fine. Now I'm sleeping in the on-call room most nights because some new person just moved in down the hall from me, and I'd rather perform a whole day of back-to-back appendectomies than risk running into my new neighbour and having to introduce myself. And now I can't sleep in the on-call room either, because Root's gonna be around all the time and I'm going to have to constantly keep my libido in check. Why can't I be more like this guy?" Shaw pointed to the motionless body on the operating table.

"You...want to have been in a horrific chainsaw accident that nearly killed you and requires you to undergo a stomach and lung transplant?"

"Obviously not. But look at him. He's passed the fuck out on the table without a care in the world. He doesn't need to worry about hot coworkers with stupid swishy wavy brown hair and legs that go on forever tempting his resolve."

Shaw must have said the last part a bit too loudly because the OR nurses raised their eyebrows at her and Yang in complete judgment.

"This discussion does not leave the room, or you guys will be doing butt implants with the plastics team for the next two weeks," Shaw threatened.

"Nice! I would have put them on colonoscopies, but two weeks of butt implants are way better!" Yang commented.

….

After her shift, Shaw changed back into her clothes and got into the elevator heading down to the main lobby. She decided to head home to her apartment, figuring that she would likely not run into her new neighbour this late at night.

The elevator doors opened on the second floor and in stepped the annoying sexy Dr. Groves. Root's eyes lit up as soon as she spotted Shaw and a playful smirk formed at her lips.

"Going down?" Root asked, waggling her eyebrows.

Shaw responded with an exaggerated eyeroll.

The rest of the elevator ride was spent in relative silence, with Shaw trying her hardest not to look directly at Root while the leggy brunette continued to somehow flirt with just her eyes. The third person in the elevator happened to be Bobby Jackson, who had stumbled in on the two in the supply room earlier that day and who was now praying to the heavens that the elevator would move faster so that he could book it out of there.

The elevator finally reached the lobby floor and Bobby ran out so quickly that a few doctors and nurses looked his way, expecting an emergency.

Root and Shaw stepped out of the elevator at the same time and Shaw cleared her throat. "Uh, I hope you had a good first day, Dr. Groves. I'll talk to you tomorrow about the Anderson case."

Root beamed. "Looking forward to it, Dr. Shaw. Hey, are you heading home? Me too! Let's walk together - I'm heading the same way."

Before Shaw could say anything, Root had looped her arm around Shaw's and pulled her towards the sliding exit doors. Shaw yanked her arm back grumpily, but gestured with her head for Root to follow her.

They walked in charged silence for a few blocks until Shaw realized that they were standing in front of her apartment building yet Root was still following her.

"Uhhh how much further are you going? Do you need help with directions back to your place?" Shaw asked uneasily.

Root grinned. "No need. I'll just go upstairs with you."

Shaw huffed. "Look, Root - I don't think it's a good idea for you to come back to my place again. I-"

"Oh, don't get the wrong idea, sweetie - I live here."

"You...what?"

"I live here. Just moved in."

"Wait, you're...the new neighbour?"

Root nodded and grinned. "Now I know where to go to borrow sugar, _sugar_. We're gonna have so much fun together."

 

Ah, crap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant for this to be a one shot, but left things open for a possible continuation because ROOT AND SHAW IN A DOCTOR AU.


	2. Being Neighbourly

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dr. Shaw is back by popular demand! Thanks for enjoying my silly story and for all of the kudos and comments!
> 
> I'm dedicating this fic to my friend Peggy, who loves Doctor Shaw. I'd give her a proper AO3 dedication, but I don't know her username :p

Shaw opened the door to her apartment and tiredly walked in. It had been a particularly day at work and she was relieved to finally make it home. After kicking off her shoes, she walked over to the liquor cabinet and poured herself a glass of scotch. She lifted the glass to her lips but stopped midway when she heard a muffled sound coming from her bedroom.

Quietly setting the glass down on the kitchen counter, Shaw pulled out a knife from the knife block, careful to avoid making any noises that would alert the intruder to her presence. She crept up to the bedroom door and slowly turned the handle to open it. By the sounds of it, the intruder appeared to have gone into the ensuite bathroom, so Shaw quietly stepped into the bedroom and stood waiting outside of the bathroom door. She readied the knife to attack when she heard the noises inside getting nearer.

As the bathroom door opened, Shaw quickly pounced - grabbing the intruder by the throat with one hand to push them up against the wall and pressing the knife against their throat with the other hand. When she looked up to glare into the eyes of the intruder, a pair of playful honey brown eyes stared back at her.

"Root!? What the hell are you doing here in my apartment?" Shaw lowered the kitchen knife but kept her other hand wrapped around Root's long slender neck. She could feel Root's quickening pulse thrumming beneath her fingers and noticed her dilated pupils and hitched breathing - all signs that Root was probably enjoying her compromised position a little too much.

Root reached up and covered Shaw's hand on her throat with her own. "Can't a couple of gals catch up after a long day of work?"

"You broke into my apartment."

"I wanted it to be a surprise. Success?"

"I could have stabbed you."

_Still might._

"Worth the risk."

Shaw gave an exasperated huff and loosened her grip on Root's neck, much to Root's disappointment. As she released her hold, Shaw only just noticed that Root was wearing very little. In fact, her annoying new neighbour was dressed only in a lacy black bra and matching set of panties.

"Uhhh Root?"

"Yes, sweetie?"

"What the hell are you wearing? Or _not_ wearing, rather. Why are you in my apartment in nothing but lingerie?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

"No," Shaw deadpanned. I don't usually get neighbours breaking into my apartment in their undies, so I have no idea what-" she gestured at Root- "all this is."

"Stress relief," Root answered, matter-of-factly, reaching down to take both of Shaw's hands in her own. Shaw just gulped and stared dumbly back at Root, unmoving even when Root laced their fingers together.

Goddammit. Every time. Shaw needed a can of Root repellent to keep herself from acting like a total dummy when she's around Root.

Root walked her backwards towards the bed and pushed her down to sit on the mattress. She dropped their hands and climbed onto the bed to straddle Shaw's lap.

Well that escalated quickly.

Root paused. "Do you want to stop?" She whispered in Shaw's ear, causing her to shiver.

Shaw deliberated for a moment and then swiftly flipped Root onto her back and pinned her wrists down on either side of her head.

"No," Shaw growled and then leaned in to brush her lips against Root's ear. "Do you?"

Root shook her head wordlessly and Shaw smirked, glad to have taken back some control. She slowly lowered her lips towards Root's and

KNOCK KNOCK

Shaw's eyes shot open and she found herself alone in bed, swathed in darkness and, disappointingly, not on top of a half naked Root.

KNOCK KNOCK

Shaw reached for her phone on the night table and checked the time. Who the hell could be knocking on her door at four in the fucking morning? Her pager hadn't beeped and there were no missed messages on her phone, so it must not have been a hospital emergency.

Shaw growled as she flung the blanket off and stomped towards the incessant knocking at her front door. She threw the door open to see Root standing there, wearing an oversized tshirt that hung off one shoulder and short pj bottoms that showed off her long, slender legs.

Dammit, this was somehow even sexier than the lingerie that she was wearing in Shaw's dream. Except for the bunny slippers. Those were lame and not adorable at all.

Root gave Shaw a lopsided grin. "Hey sweetie. You busy?"

"A little," Shaw answered curtly.

Busy having sexy dreams. About Root. But Root didn't need to know that.

"Skip the verbal foreplay, Root - what do you want?" There was a faint smell of bacon in the air. Shaw sniffed and glanced out into the hallway to try and locate the source of the smell.

Root gave a mock pout. "I'm sorry, Sameen - did I wake you?"

"Yes, you did."

_From a very pleasant dream._

Shaw huffed impatiently. "So, what can I help you with?" She tried to keep eye contact and not let her gaze wander, since Root was obviously wearing nothing under her thin tshirt. Dammit, Root.

"I was hoping that I could maybe use your shower? I don't have any hot water in my apartment right now."

"Can't you shower at work?"

"But it's so much easier to do it here. Besides, I brought you breakfast as repayment," Root held up a bag and waved it in front of Shaw. So that was what smelled so good.

Shaw sighed and stepped aside so that Root could come in.

"Thanks, Sameen," Root said appreciatively, "You're a life saver."

Root went to put the food down on the table when she heard a rustling sound from the direction of Shaw's bedroom.

"Oh, I'm sorry - do you have company?" Root tried to hide the look of disappointment on her face.

There was some more rustling from the bedroom and then a large Belgian Malanois emerged. The dog trotted over to Root and bent down to sniff at her bunny slippers.

Root smiled, relieved to find out that Shaw was not entertaining someone else in her bedroom. "And who is this handsome fella?"

"That's Bear," Shaw answered.

"I think he likes me," Root said, reaching down to scratch Bear behind the ears.

Bear wagged his tail happily.

"He wasn't here when I was over the last time," Root said, looking up at Shaw.

"He was staying with Fusco last week while I wasn't home, because I was trying to avoid my new neighbour, who turned out to be-"

"Me," Root said cheerily.

"Don't remind me," Shaw muttered.

Shaw could still smell the bacon, and a low rumbling noise emanated from her stomach.

Root grinned. "Looks like someone's hungry." She walked over to the sink to wash her hands and back to the kitchen counter, pulling the contents out of the bag that she brought with her. Shaw's mouth started watering as she watched Root take out a container of bacon and several containers of pancakes. There was enough food to feed a small family.

"I've already eaten, so this is all for you, Sameen," Root said with a smile.

Shaw surveyed the spread. "What - no maple syrup?" she asked.

Root grinned "I thought you might ask," she said as she pulled out a giant jug of maple syrup and placed it on the table next to the pancakes.

"That's a lot of syrup," Shaw pointed out, "even for me."

"I figured it might come in handy...for other things," Root replied, waggling her eyebrows.

Shaw started to roll her eyes but then paused briefly as she thought about what Root was implying. She quickly shook her head to get the image of a naked, syrup-covered Root out of her head before actual Root noticed.

"This will do," Shaw said, gesturing towards the food with her head as she poured an unholy amount of syrup onto the pancakes. "Shower is down the hall and to the right."

"Thanks, sweetie," Root said, giving Shaw a non-wink. "You're more than welcome to join me; I know you were thinking about it."

"I was not!" Shaw countered.

 _Well I am now_ , she added silently to herself.

"I bet you are now," Root said with a grin as she slinked away into the bathroom.

With the distracting brunette out of sight, Shaw focused her attention back on the flapjack feast before her. She grabbed a fork and knife from her cutlery drawer and eagerly dug in, shoveling in a giant mouthful of pancakes. The pancakes were still warm and buttery and the bacon was just the right amount of extra crispy. Shaw couldn't help but let out a small moan of satisfaction as she devoured the food.

Shaw could hear Root coming out of the bathroom just as she scooped the last fork of pancakes into her mouth.

"How was breakfast?" she heard Root ask.

"Not bad," Shaw admitted, turning around, "but next time I could use some more ba-oobs. Root, why are you naked and dripping all over my kitchen floor?" Shaw tried really really hard to avert her eyes as Root walked breezily towards her. She jumped up from her seat and moved away to created more space between herself and Root.

"Relax, Sameen, I just forgot to grab my towel and clothes from my bag here." Root bent down to grab her bag and lifted it up for Shaw to see. "Besides, it's nothing that you haven't seen before."

Shaw made a gurgled noise and Bear trotted over to see what all the fuss was about.

"Bear, look away! _Kijk weg_!" Shaw said quickly, gesturing for him to turn his head away, not wanting him to see a nude Root standing in the middle of their kitchen. Bear looked between the two women for a moment more before padding back towards his bed in Shaw's bedroom and flopping down with a sigh. Humans.

Root wisely refrained from mentioning how adorable it was that Shaw tried to shield Bear's eyes from seeing her naked. She toweled off and started pulling on her clothes.

"Seriously? You're gonna do that here?" Shaw asked.

"Might as well," Root said, shrugging on her t-shirt. "Don't tell me you're shy, Sameen."

"I'm not shy! There's just...boundaries. And you're crossing all of them."

"Like I said, I know how to push your buttons," Root teased. "I have to run. Thanks for the shower, Sam-" she leaned in close to Shaw's ear- "Maybe we'll make it a joint venture next time."

Root was out the door before Shaw could come to her senses and swat her away. Shaw sighed. This woman was going to make her life hell.

....

"Right in the middle of your kitchen?"

"Yup, naked as the day she was born. And wet."

"That's too much info, Shaw."

"No, I mean from the shower, Yang! She was wet from the shower, and she had 'accidentally' left her towel and clothes in the kitchen where I was. I'm telling you, this woman is going to give me a heart attack one day."

"I didn't think you had a heart," Yang joked, shoveling in a large forkful of salad, "And I should know, since I'm the resident heart expert."

"Um, ex-excuse me, Dr. Shaw; Dr. Yang?"

Shaw and Yang turned and looked over at a fidgeting Bobby Jackson standing at the doorway.

"What is it, Milhouse?" Yang groaned, "Can't you see we're on our lunch break?"

"B-but you're in the morgue."

"Exactly. It's the only place we can go for a quiet lunch without being bothered - until now," Yang glared at Bobby.

"Uhhhh Chief Carter sent me down here to find you both," Bobby explained, hoping that the death glares from both surgeons would ease up once he mentioned the chief. It didn't work.

"And?" Shaw prompted.

"There's a case."

"Of course there is."

"Multiple gunshot wounds to the torso," Bobby described.

"Well, why didn't you say so?" Yang and Shaw both exclaimed at once.

"We're on our way," Shaw said, taking one last giant bite of her steak sandwich and putting the remainder into her Tupperware container for later. Yang did the same with her salad and they both hurriedly stuffed their lunch containers into the morgue fridge, next to some other questionable containers that were probably filled with various organs. They turned around to see a look of complete horror on Bobby's face.

"What?" Shaw said, "Gotta keep our food cold. What do you think we are - savages?"

Bobby stood there, still frozen in place.

"Come on Milhouse," Yang walked up to the horrified resident and turned him around by his shoulders towards the exit. "Lead the way."

....

"Someone must have really had it out for that guy," Yang said to Shaw as they got out of surgery, removing their caps and discarding their gloves.

"No kidding - dude came in here looking like Swiss cheese," Shaw replied. "Speaking of Swiss cheese, I gotta go finish my sandwich. You wanna tell his family that he survived?"

"Hell no! I have to go do my rounds. This one's all yours, Shaw."

"I hate you sometimes," Shaw grumbled.

"Awww, I hate you sometimes too. Toodles!" Yang chirped as she turned and headed off to do her rounds.

Shaw looked at her patient's chart and sighed. Hopefully this will be over quickly. She walked into the waiting room to look for her patient's family.

"Is there a Genrika Zhirova here?" Shaw called out to the smattering of worried looking family members gathered in the waiting room.

"That's me," a tiny voice called out.

Shaw watched as a young girl approached her. The girl couldn't be any older than ten, with unruly blonde hair bouncing as she made her way to Shaw.

"You're...Genrika?" Shaw asked, confused that this tiny human thing was the only family that Swiss cheese guy had. Milhouse had mentioned that the patient was driven to the hospital by a family member.

"Gen. Nobody calls me Genrika."

"Okay, Gen. I'm Dr. Shaw. Your uh, Vadym just got out of surgery and he is going to survive. He's going to have a hell of a time recovering, though, so we're gonna have to keep him here in the hospital for a few weeks while he heals." Shaw noticed that the girl had dry blood stains all over her clothes, but she didn't look pale and seemed to be moving normally, so Shaw concluded that it was not her blood. "You alright, kid? Whose blood is that?"

Gen looked down at her clothes. "That's Vadym's blood. He got mixed up with some bad people and they shot him because he couldn't pay them-" she leaned in and lowered her voice to a whisper- "for drugs."

"How do you know this?" Shaw whispered back.

"Because I eavesdropped on their conversations. They shot him while he was outside of our apartment. I found him on my way back from school and I had to drag him into the car and drive him here."

"Wait," Shaw said, " _You_ drove him here? What are you, eight?"

"I'm ten," Gen corrected. "And I couldn't call an ambulance because I'm not old enough to have a phone."

"But you're old enough to _drive_?"

"Dire circumstances!" Gen explained.

"Okay. Well even though that was completely illegal and could have actually made things much, much worse, you probably saved his life by getting him here on time. Like I said, he's gonna have to stay here for a few weeks while he recovers, so you got any other family that you can stay with? Preferably someone who's old enough to drive and can pick you up?"

"No, Vadym is the only family I have here."

"Are you kidding me? This creep with the drug problem is the only family you have?" Shaw said, a little too loudly. A few people in the waiting room whipped her heads over at Shaw, scandalized.

"Uhhh, let's go talk somewhere else." Shaw shuffled Gen into an empty patient room nearby.

"Look, kid, you need to stay with someone while Vadym recovers here. He's likely not gonna be in any shape to take care of you once he's released, so as much as I'd hate to say it, I'm gonna have to call child services to find you a place to stay."

"Can't I just stay in the hospital?" Gen asked.

"No can do, kid."

Gen cast her eyes downwards with a defeated look on her face.

Shaw sighed. "Look, there's a family room here that you can stay in for tonight, but only for tonight while we try to find someone to look after you."

Gen grinned brightly. "Deal!"

"Alright, stay here while I go talk to the receptionist."

"Thanks, Dr. Shaw!"

"Don't mention it, kid."

As Shaw walked towards the reception desk to get the number for child services, an idea popped into her head. She fished out her phone from her lab coat pocket and dialed.

"Hey, Fusco. I need you to do me a favour - you still taking in strays?"


	3. Moving Target

After her call with Fusco, Shaw walked back to the patient room to speak to Gen. She entered the room and looked around, noticing that the girl was nowhere to be found.

"Hey Patty," Shaw called to the nurse standing outside of the room, "have you seen a girl - about nine years old - walk out of this room? I told her to wait here till I came back, but she's gone."

"Sorry, Dr. Shaw - I haven't seen her around," Patty said apologetically.

Shaw sighed. "This is why I don't work with kids," she grumbled to herself. She made her way towards the elevators, thinking that Gen might have gotten hungry and wandered off to the cafeteria in search of food.

As she walked past a gurney in the hallway, she could swear the lump of blankets on the gurney whispered at her. Shaw stopped in her tracks and reversed, walking backwards a few steps back to the gurney.

"Pssssssst. Dr. Shaw. It's me, Gen," the girl whispered from underneath the blankets.

Shaw sidled closer to the gurney. "Why are you hiding on a gurney, Gen? I've been looking for you. Found a place for you to stay while your cousin recovers."

"That's the thing - I don't know how well Vadym will be recovering now, since I just saw the guy who shot him wandering down the hall and checking patient rooms. I think he's here to finish the job."

"What?? Are you sure you saw him???" Shaw exclaimed.

"Shhhhhh! Keep it down! We don't want to attract any attention," Gen shushed.

"I don't know if you noticed, kid, but I'm standing here talking to a pile of blankets, so...it's a bit too late for that."

Gen huffed, throwing the blankets off and hopping off the gurney, her frazzled blonde curls sticking up in an unholy mess. "Come on, I'll show you where the guy went." She grabbed onto Shaw's wrist and started tugging her down the hall. Shaw repressed the instinct to yank back her arm. The kid's just trying to be helpful, after all.

As they rounded the corner, Gen skidded to a stop and ducked back behind the wall, pulling Shaw back with her.

"He's right there!" She whisper-yelled to Shaw.

Shaw quickly peered around the corner and spotted the hitman. The guy was dressed all in black; his dark trench coat barely covering the pistol tucked in his belt as he walked down the hall looking into patient rooms to find his target. He was quickly approaching the room where Vadym was being kept. Shaw sighed. She'd be damned if she let a patient die on her watch, even if he was a drug dealing piece of crap.

Shaw fished out her phone from the pocket of her lab coat and handed it to Gen. "Stay here. Call 911 and tell them that there is a homicide in progress. And stay hidden. I'm going in there."

"What? You can't go after him! He's got a gun! What do you have - your fists?"

Shaw smirked. "Yeah. Hardly seems fair, right?"

As the hitman stepped into another patient's room, Shaw quickly ducked into Vadym's room and hid behind the door. She listened for the heavy thud of footsteps as the hitman approached the room.

The dark figure stepped through the doorway and, finding his target, raised his gun to deliver the fatal shot.

Shaw stepped out from her hiding spot behind the door and grabbed the gun by its muzzle with her right hand, shoving it up and away from her body just as the hitman pulled the trigger. The bullet lodged itself into the wall just above Vadym's bed. Still gripping the gun, Shaw bent the hitman's wrist backwards, causing the hammer of the gun to dig into the meaty part of his hand and forcing him to release the gun.

Shaw yanked the gun away quickly and efficiently. "If you're gonna ambush someone in a hospital, use a muzzle suppressor. Loser." She quickly released the magazine and threw the gun away somewhere in the corner before squaring off against the hitman. She blocked an attempted right hook with her left arm and retaliated with a strike to the guy's nose, breaking it.

The hitman grunted in pain and reached into his coat, producing a serrated knife.

Shaw smirked. "Now we're talking." She circled the hitman, instincts sharp and ready to counter an attack at any moment.

The hitman lunged toward her with his knife in a slashing motion and Shaw easily dodged, grabbing the wrist holding the knife to restrict his control.

"Dr. Shaw! Are you okay?" Gen skidded into view, breathless.

Shaw looked up in momentary distraction and the hitman wrenched his hand back, striking again and slashing a deep gash in her upper arm. Shaw gritted her teeth as blood started seeping through her lab coat. "Get out of here, Gen! Call for help."

"I _did_!"

"Sameen!" Root appeared at the door behind Gen and immediately lunged towards the hitman, jumping on his back and attempting to put him into a chokehold.

" _This_ is who you called for help?" Shaw yelled.

The hitman slammed Root backwards into the wall behind him until she loosened her grip on him. As she slid off his back, he turned around and slashed at her, catching her in the ribs with a graze of his blade. The cut wasn't deep, but blood started blooming right away through her scrubs.

"Hey, asshat - over here!" Shaw shouted to detract attention away from Root.

The hitman turned around and focused his target back on Shaw. With her left arm injured, Shaw wasn't sure how quickly she would be able to take this guy down. The hitman prepared to jump at Shaw again when his entire body jolted and then he went slack. He crumpled to the floor, revealing Root behind him, holding one paddle of a defibrillator in each hand.

Root shrugged. "Clear?"

....

They tied the hitman up with some zipties that Root produced from her pocket. Shaw decided that she wasn’t going to ask Root why she was carrying zipties around at work. Asking would pretty much be an invitation for Root to start up with her innuendos again. Not that she ever stopped. Gen was blabbering excitedly as they tied the guy up, completely enthralled with Shaw's combat skills and Root's...resourcefulness.

Fusco and the police showed up shortly after, and once Shaw and Root were finished giving brief statements to the police, Shaw led Gen over to Fusco.

"Gen, this is Lionel Fusco. You can stay with him and his son Lee while we figure out your long-term living situation. Lee is just a few years older than you, so you two can hang out and do...cool kid stuff."

Gen raised an eyebrow. "You don't spend much time around kids, do you?"

Shaw shrugged. "Only kid I ever got along with was myself."

"Well you can add me to that list now."

Shaw smirked. "Jury's still out. Just stay out of trouble, okay?"

"For the record, if I hadn't called Root-"

"Dr. Groves-"

"She said I could call her Root. If I hadn't called Root for help, who knows what would've happened to you?"

"I can tell you what _wouldn't_ have happened: this giant cut on my arm."

Gen opened her mouth to respond, but shut it quickly. "I’m sorry, Dr. Shaw. I didn't mean to get you involved in this."

Shaw ruffled Gen's hair. "Don't worry, kiddo. I wouldn't have gotten involved if I didn't want to be. Now go with Lionel; I'll check up on you tomorrow."

Gen launched at Shaw and squeezed her tightly in a hug ignoring the fact that Shaw immediately tense upon contact. "Thanks for saving Vadym, Dr. Shaw. Even though he doesn't deserve it."

"You kidding me? There's no way I'm letting one of my patients die, no matter how big of a jerk he is."

Gen released her hold on Shaw and smiled. "Talk to you tomorrow!"

"Hey Gen," Shaw called.

"Yeah?"

"You can just call me Shaw."

Gen grinned. "Talk to you tomorrow, Shaw."

....

"Take off your shirt, Root."

Root smirked. "Normally I'd welcome this kind of foreplay, but I'm afraid I'll need your assistance with this one, Dr. Shaw," Root said, gesturing to the dried blood along her ribs. "I can't exactly lift my arms up right now."

Shaw rolled her eyes. She grabbed a set of surgical scissors and proceeded to cut through the scrub top that Root was wearing, all the while doing her best to avoid eye contact, since she could clearly see out of her peripheral vision that Root was trying to bat her eyelashes at her. She was not falling for that one. Again.

They were the only two people in the staff lounge; it was always quieter during graveyard shifts. Shaw had grabbed a bunch of supplies and laid them out on the coffee table in front of the sectional couch where they were sitting.

“Crap. I forgot to grab the local anesthetic,” Shaw cursed. “Stay here, I’ll go grab it.”

“It’s okay, Sameen. I don’t need it,” Root assured her.

Shaw raised an eyebrow. “You’re not trying to be badass just to impress me, are you?”

“Why - is it working?” Root teased.

“No. So - anesthetic or no?”

“No.”

Shaw shrugged. “Alright. Just remember - I offered.”

Once Root's top was cut through and removed, Shaw grabbed a packet of antiseptic wipe from the coffee table and peeled open the packet. She turned to Root. "You know the drill. Breathe deeply, because this is probably going to sting."

Root jerked at the first touch of the cold alcoholic wipe against her wound, a soft whimper escaping her lips. Instinctively, Shaw reached out her other hand to press against the non-injured side of Root's abdomen, holding her still. The feel of Shaw's warm hand through the nitrile gloves felt strangely soothing to Root and she relaxed a little as Shaw continued to clean the wound.

"That was a pretty reckless thing that you did back there, Root. You could have been killed. I had things handled."

"Well, all I know is that Gen ran into me in the hallway shouting frantically about how you were going up against some assassin with a gun, and then we heard a gunshot. What was I supposed to think? I didn't know that you were some kind of ninja warrior."

"Combat training comes in handy sometimes."

"Will you teach me?"

"Maybe." Shaw snorted. "By the way, that choke hold you tried on the guy wouldn't have had any effect whatsoever. The technique was way off."

"That's why I need a competent instructor to make sure I get my choking technique right," Root said, winking at Shaw.

Shaw shook her head and rolled her eyes. "I swear, you flirt at the worst times."

Root smirked. "I know."

Shaw unintentionally pressed a little too hard against the wound and Root hissed at the sting.

“Baby,” Shaw chided, but nevertheless gentling her movements.

“Wow, are we moving onto pet names already?” Yang said, strolling into the lounge. She stopped in her tracks and regarded a shirtless Root being tended to by Shaw, a faint blush rising in Root’s cheeks and both women covered in blood. “Should I, uh, leave you two alone?”

Shaw rolled her eyes. “It’s fine, Yang. We were involved in an incident, but it’s all been taken care of now.”

“Incident, huh? Hanky panky in the supply closet again?”

“No, there was a hitman who attempted to kill one of my patients.”

“What? Which one?”

“Vadym.”

“Swiss cheese guy?”

“Yeah.”

“Let me guess, you took him down and whooped his ass?”

“Actually, uh, Root did.”

Yang turned to Root with an impressed look. “Smart AND tough. I can see why Shaw likes you.”

“I don’t LIKE her!” Shaw sputtered. She looked over at Root, who looked a little hurt. Shaw wasn’t sure if it was because of the wound or because of her words. “Uh, I mean I like you, but y’know, in a professional way.”

Yang snorted.

“Shut up, Yang.”

“I didn’t say anything!” Yang raised her hands in mock surrender.

Shaw rolled her eyes and finished patching up the wound on Root’s abdomen.

“Keep it dry. Change the dressing every-“

“Every 72 hours,” Root interrupted. “I know. I’m a surgeon too, you know.”

“Right.” Shaw looked down and realized that her hands were still resting on top of the bandages on Root’s torso. She quickly withdrew her hands and coughed nervously.

“My turn to do you,” Root said.

“What?”

“Your arm, Sameen.”

Shaw looked down at her sleeve caked in dried blood. “Oh. Uh, yeah.”

“So what’ll it be? Simple uninterrupted suture?”

“Baseball stitch. This is my dominant arm; I’m gonna be using it a lot.”

“Anesthetic?”

Shaw looked at Root incredulously. “Does it look like this is my first trip to the rodeo?”

“Okay, no anesthetic. Material?”

“Nylon.”

“Yes, Doctor!” Root nodded and proceeded to go wash her hands and put on the gloves to stitch up Shaw.

“Wow, stitching each other up? This is a whole new level of kink - even for you, Shaw,” Yang teased.

Shaw growled at Yang as Root proceeded to clean the wound. Despite the sting of the antiseptic, Shaw found it kind of relaxing having Root rub gentle circles around the gash in her arm. Not that she’d ever admit it.

Yang plopped down onto a chair at the lunch table and started crunching on an apple that she pulled out of her lab coat pocket.

Root looked up briefly from stitching the wound on Shaw’s arm. “Oh, I love apples! Would you happen to have any more, by chance?

Yang produced another apple out her other pocket, wiggled it in the air and placed it down onto the lunch table.

Root grinned. "You're the best, Cristina."

“I know,” Yang said between mouthfuls. “So - you guys took down a hitman, huh? That’s pretty exciting. Nothing like that ever happens here at this hospital.”

“Nothing like that happened _before_ ,” Shaw corrected, “But since big shot McBrainy here arrived, every day has been like an episode of...hey Yang, what's that medical drama that you used to watch? Brown's Physique or something?

"Grey's Anatomy,” Yang said, still crunching loudly on her apple. “Most ridiculous show I've ever watched; some of the cases are just outrageous. There was even an episode where all the doctors just suddenly burst into song in the middle of the operating floor. There was that one cool cardio thoracic surgeon, though," she said, chewing thoughtfully on the apple.

Shaw turned to Root. “You don’t watch that crap, do you?”

Root smirked. “Why would I want to watch a bunch of good looking TV doctors when there’s a perfectly good looking real doctor right in front of me?”

“Oh she’s _good_ ,” Yang commented from her chair.

“Shut it, Yang.”

Yang’s pager started beeping and she looked down at the number. “Gotta go. the chief needs me. I’ll leave you two lovebirds here to continue your mating dance. The tension’s so thick you could cut it with a scalpel.” She hopped off the seat and headed out the door.

Root smirked. “Cristina approves,” she said, tying up the suture and cutting off the thread.

“Approves of what?” Shaw asked.

“Of us. Together.”

Shaw rolled her eyes. “We’re not together, Root. It was a one time thing.”

As Root finished and took off her gloves, Shaw got up from the couch and walked over to the lockers. She grabbed a clean scrub top and tossed one to Root. Root stood up and reach out to catch the the piece of clothing, but winced and recoiled when the motion pulled at her freshly sutured wound.

Shaw rushed over (to check the wound, of course).

Root smiled. “I didn’t think you cared.”

Shaw glared and quickly stepped away. “I’m worried about my perfect suturing job going to waste.”

Root chuckled, but winced again when it pulled at her wound.

Shaw glanced over. “I bet you regret not going for the anesthetic now, huh?”

“You didn’t want it either.”

“I don’t mind the pain; it keeps me grounded. I kind of enjoy this sort of thing.”

Root grinned. “I’m so glad you said that. I do too.”


	4. Imagine Me and You

Root gasped as her back hit the floor, Shaw quickly pinning her down by her shoulders and sitting astride her hips.

“You had enough yet, or you good to go another round?” Shaw panted.

Root looked up at Shaw hovering over her, rivulets of sweat trickling down her neck. “I’m good to go if you are,” she answered with a defiant smirk.

Shaw grinned. “That’s what I wanna hear.” She hopped up and extended a hand to Root.

Root grasped onto Shaw’s hand and groaned as she was peeled off the floor. “Can we put down mats or something next time? I think you might’ve broken my tailbone on that last round.”

Shaw snorted as she reset the stopwatch on her phone. “Don’t be a baby, Root. It’s probably just a bruise. You can get Torres to look at it just to be sure. She might even let you use the new x-ray machine.”

“Good idea. I’ll tell Callie that you broke it on purpose.”

“Wouldn’t be surprised it she believes you. That _does_ sound like something I’d do. Now, enough with the chit chat - get back into fight stance.” Shaw raised her fists up in front of her, waiting for Root to mirror her actions. “Ready?”

“Ready.”

A sudden knock at the door interrupted them before they could start.

“Hang on a sec,” Shaw said, jogging to the door.

She opened the door and saw Fusco standing in the hallway.

“Fusco? What’re you doing here? Is Gen okay?” Shaw tensed up, the adrenaline from her sparring practice with Root still pumping through her veins.

“She’s fine, Shaw. She’s just on her way up,” Fusco assured her.

Shaw relaxed. “You’re early. I wasn’t expecting you for another two hours.”

“Oh, hey Lionel,” Root chirped, appearing at Shaw’s side.

Fusco took note of the two women, both sweaty and disheveled, barely clothed and still breathing heavily.

“Jesus - do you two not have any decency? There’s a ten year old kid on her way up here and you thought that now would be a good time to get it on?”

“What? Get it on-“ Shaw sputtered and looked over to Root who was grinning widely.

“No! Nooooooooooo!” Shaw exclaimed pointedly. “I’m teaching Root how to fight. We are NOT ‘getting it on’!” Shaw grabbed the hoodie hanging on the back of her door and pulled it on, zipping it up defensively.

“The lady doth protest too much,” Root teased.

“Shut it, Root!”

“You wanna dial back the aggression a bit, Shaw? Gen’s gonna be here any minute.”

“Alright, fine.” Shaw took a deep breath and turned to Root. “You gotta go, Root.”

“You know, I was going to make you some lunch as a thank you for teaching me how to fight, but I guess I’m not welcome anymore.” Root shrugged and went back into the apartment, making a show of gathering up her things.

“Wait,” Shaw blurted, whipping her head around to look at Root. “What were you going to make for lunch?”

“Quiche Lorraine. Why, you interested?” Root asked, knowing full well what Shaw’s answer was going to be.

Shaw’s stomach growled embarrassingly loudly, causing Fusco to raise a concerned eyebrow.

“Alright, fine. You can stay,” Shaw grumbled.

“Who can stay?”

Shaw looked out into the hallway to see the familiar tangle of blonde hair standing next to Fusco.

“Root. She’s making us lunch.”

Gen’s eyes widened at Shaw’s answer and she pushed past Fusco and Shaw to rush into the apartment.

“Root!”

“Hey, kiddo!” Root chuckled as Gen attacked her with a hug around her waist.

Hearing Gen’s voice, Bear trotted out from his bed to greet her.

“Hey, Bear!” Gen scratched him gently behind his ears and he wagged his tail contentedly.

“Well, looks like you’ve got everything handled here, Shaw. I’ll be back tomorrow to pick up Gen.”

“Bye, Lionel!” Gen and Root called out in unison.

....

Shaw and Gen sat on the couch watching an action movie as Root busied herself in the kitchen.

Gen turned to Shaw. “So is Root like, your girlfriend?”

Shaw choked on the fistful of popcorn that she had just stuffed into her mouth.

“What? No! She’s a coworker. That’s it.”

“But she’s here at your apartment on your day off. And she’s making lunch for us. And Bear likes her.”

Bear raised his head at the mention of his name, and Shaw shot a glance at him. “That’s because Bear here is a traitor.”

Bear whined dejectedly and set his head back down on his front paws.

“Bear doesn’t even like Lionel as much as he likes Root, and Lionel takes care of him when you’re working,” Gen pointed out.

“Well that’s probably because Root feeds him from the table when I’m not looking. She never finishes her food, but when Bear’s around her plate is always clean.”

“Oh, so you’ve had dinners with her before?” Gen pressed, “And you’ve noticed when she doesn’t finish her food?”

“Wha- I, uh...“ Shaw sputtered, searching for the words.

“Well _I_ like Root,” Gen said pointedly. “She taught me how to hack into government servers.”

“She what?!? That’s a serious crime, Gen. How does she even know how to do this stuff?”

“She used to hack for fun in university to pay for school. Honestly, Shaw, it’s like you don’t know anything about your girlfriend.”

“She not my girlfriend!” Shaw huffed. She glared at Gen and caught the smirk on the girl’s face.

“You little shi-“

“Lunch is ready!” Root announced from the kitchen.

....

“So, Gen says that you’ve been teaching her how to hack into government servers,” Shaw said, taking a giant bite outs of a slice of the Quiche Lorraine that Root had made for lunch.

Root shot Gen an accusatory look.

“Sorry, Root,” Gen shrugged her shoulders apologetically. “It just came out.”

Root narrowed her eyes at Gen and then turned to Shaw. “In my defense, Sam, it wasn’t anything important - just the DMV. It’s not like I taught her how to hack into the FBI servers.”

“You know how to do that???” Gen exclaimed.

“I haven’t done it for a while,” Root said quickly when she saw the disapproval in Shaw’s eyes. “That was a long time ago. I only did it to help a girlf- uh, a friend.”

“You hacked into the FBI to help your friend?” Shaw asked.

“Girlfriend,” Gen clarified.

“Ex-Girlfriend,” Root clarified further. “Look, she was being harassed and stalked by a creepy guy in town, so I planted some evidence that may or may not have been used to uh, put him in jail,” Root shrugged.

“Wow, you did that for your girlfriend? You must really like her,” Gen commented.

“Ex-Girlfriend. And yeah, I did really like her at the time.” Root poked at her food wistfully. “We grew up together in a small town called Bishop in Texas and then we moved out to LA together when I got accepted into med school. But sometimes things don’t work out the way you want them to, so I broke things off. I finished my residency and fellowship in LA, and she moved to Portland. We still check in with each other here and there through email.”

“Well at least you have Shaw now,” Gen pointed out, “I think she really likes yo-mmmmppphhh” her words were muffled when Shaw launched herself across the table to cover up Gen’s mouth with her hand.

“Yeah, I really like you as a friend and colleague,” Shaw said quickly. “Don’t tell Yang I said that. It took a year of working together before I admitted that she was better at suturing than me.”

Root smiled. “Wow, I’m honored.”

“Ow!” Shaw drew her hand back when Gen chomped down on it.

“Shaw taught me that if someone were to try and silence me by covering my mouth with their hand, I should bite it - and it worked!” Gen said proudly.

“Yeah, I taught you that to ward off potential kidnappers - not to literally bite the hand that feeds you,” Shaw scowled, shaking the sting out of her hand.

“Technically, _I_ was the one who fed her today,” Root said, winking at Gen. “Speaking of, when is my next fighting lesson? I’ll be happy to repay you with food again.”

“How about Wednesday?” Shaw suggested.

“But I won’t be here on Wednesday!” Gen protested.

“How about you teach me on Wednesday, and then I’ll make lunch on-“

“Friday. I’ll be here,” Gen said.

Root chuckled. “Ok, I’ll make lunch on Friday.”

“It’s gonna have to be dinner on Friday; I’m working a day shift that day,” Shaw said.

“Deal. Dinner on Friday. Any special requests?”

“You know how to make a good filet mignon?”

“I don’t believe I’ve ever cooked a steak dinner before,” Root admitted.

“What?!” Shaw exclaimed. “Alright, well I’m going to have to show you how to cook a good filet.” She started scribbling notes onto a pad of paper, then tore off the page and handed it to Root. “Get these exact ingredients from the exact places that I’ve specified on here. I’ll meet you both here at 5pm sharp on Friday night.”

Root grinned. “I can’t wait.”

....

Root loaded the grocery bags into the trunk of her car and checked off the final item on the list that Shaw had given her. She had spent a good part of the day zipping around town to find the specific ingredients that Shaw had insisted on buying. It took her to a few sketchy neighborhoods, but it was all worth it once she inspected the items.

It was just past 4pm and the sun was just starting to set when Root started driving back from the farmer’s market in Midtown. Traffic was just starting to get heavy with the mass exodus of people leaving work for the weekend. Shaw should be finished with her shift soon, and Fusco would be dropping Gen off at 5pm before heading to work at the bar.

Root smiled to herself as she thought about the new people in her life. A year ago she was in LA, working a great job and highly revered by her peers - but she had no one. She had just broken things off with Hanna, and her life revolved around work. Any romantic encounters were casual and short-lived; it was difficult to connect with anyone outside of the medical profession, given the hours that she worked. Now, she had good coworkers that she got along with, a potential thing going on with Shaw, and an unexpected friendship with Gen.

Root was jolted out of her reverie when a kid ran right in front of her car in the middle of the intersection, chasing his basketball that had gone rogue and bounced away into the street. She slammed on the breaks and narrowly missed hitting the boy.

“Sorry!” The kid shouted as he caught the ball and dribbled it to the other side of the street.

Root let out a breath of relief, still gripping tightly at the steering wheel. Her heart pounded so loudly in her ears that she could barely register the car behind her honking incessantly for her to move, mere seconds before the semi-truck plowed into the side of her car.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember when I said that this wasn’t going to be an angsty fic? Well, turns out I lied. It was never intended to be angsty, but I wanted to try my hand at angst, and there was an opportunity to do it with this fic. Apologies to anyone who felt deceived! :/


	5. Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of Root's car accident.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for sticking with this and for your awesome comments!
> 
> Title of the chapter is from a number in Hamilton the Musical. It was also the title of an episode of Grey’s Anatomy.
> 
> Fun challenge: how many POI references can you spot in this chapter?

“Can you hear me?”

Root groaned as she tried to make out the blurry shape in front of her. All she could hear were muffled noises, coupled with a constant ringing in her ear. She blinked a few times in confusion, and then all of a sudden everything came rushing back into sharp focus.

“Ma’am! Can you hear me?” The man in front of her asked. He was dressed in a uniform that she recognized as a paramedic’s.  

 

“Y-yeah. What-what happened?” Root tried to move but quickly realized that she was on a stretcher, her torso and forehead strapped down to restrict movement. Oh crap.

“You’ve been in a serious accident. We just pulled you out from your car. Please try not to move until we can assess your injuries.” The paramedic took out a flashlight pen from his shirt pocket. “You’ve sustained an injury to your head, so I’m going to do a few tests, okay? I’m going to shine this directly into your eyes to test your pupillary response.”

“Good call.” Root agreed.

The paramedic proceeded to shine the light into her eyes, one at a time.

“Dammit,” he muttered under his breath.

“Fixed dilated pupil?” Root asked.

“Yeah.”

“Possible sign of an intracranial hematoma, likely resulting from blunt force trauma to the head. I’ll need a CT to confirm it.”

Root saw the look of confusion on the man’s face. “I’m a neurosurgeon at Mercy Gen,” she explained. “I’m awake and responsive, so this is good, but we need to get me to the hospital right away.”

“We’re taking you there right now,” the paramedic confirmed as another paramedic came to help him hoist the stretcher into the ambulance. "Can you answer a few questions for me in the meantime?”

“Of course.”

“Name?”

“Dr. Samantha Groves - legally - but I prefer to be called Root.”

The paramedic smiled. “What’s the date today, Root?”

“May 30th.”

“Year?”

“2018.”

“Emergency contact person?”

Root paused. She had never really given any thought to who her emergency contact would be. This was something that she expected all of her patients to have, but it never occurred to her that  _she_  would need an emergency contact person. Her parents died long ago, and the only contact information she had of Hanna’s was her email address - which she hadn’t used in a while. Of course there’s

“Sameen,” Root answered. “Sameen Shaw. Her number is saved in my phone. Do you have my phone?”

“Yes we do. Looks like your phone made it out in better shape than you did,” the paramedic said, then paused. “Sorry, that was a bad joke.”

Root smiled. “No, it’s fine. You need a bit of humor in our line of work.”

The paramedic smiled back and took out the phone from a clear plastic bag. “Okay Root, does your phone have fingerprint recognition?”

“Yes.”

“Can you unlock your phone for me? We’re gonna give Sameen a call to let her know about your situation.”

“Sure.”

The paramedic held up the phone to Root’s hand and she unlocked it by pressing her thumb to the home button.

“Thanks, Root,” the paramedic said as he searched for the contact list on Root’s phone.

“Ignore the nudes,” Root said, causing him to freeze mid-swipe.

Root chuckled. “I’m just kidding. Sense of humor, remember?”

The paramedic relaxed and looked back down at the phone. “Hang tight, Root - we’ll be at the hospital in no time. Just keep talking to me, okay?”

“Okay.” Root breathed out a calming sigh of relief as she felt the ambulance jolt slightly before moving. She was conscious, and thinking clearly, which meant that she had a high recovery rate if they reached the hospital in time.

....

Shaw peeled off her gloves and washed her hands. It had been a long day at work, and she was looking forward to dinner. Sure, she was going to have to cook it, but Root was a quick learner, and next time _Root_ will be cooking the steak while _Shaw_ relaxes on the couch after work. Not that there would be a next time. Shaw furrowed her brow and shook her head to get rid of the images of domesticity that had somehow taken up residence in her subconscious. She told herself that she allowed Root to hang around because Gen (and more importantly, Bear) liked her, but maaaaaybe Shaw enjoyed having Root around too. She’s definitely easy on the eyes, and she knows how to cook.

Shaw headed to the change room and removed her scrubs, pulling on a pair of jeans and a black tank top. She pulled out her phone from her locker and checked the time: 4:23pm. Root’s probably at the apartment now preparing the side dishes, and Gen will be dropped off by Fusco soon.

“Hey Shaw - you done for the day?” Yang asked, walking into the locker room.

“Yup. Just finished with a liver transplant. Patient was lucky that his liver came in at all. Heard that the transport was almost hijacked by some triad members trying to steal the liver for their boss. Fortunately, some undercover vigilante swooped in and took out the dude.”

“What, like Batman?”

“Ha - maybe a bit more subtle than Batman. If you ask me, undercover is the way to go if you wanna do the vigilante thing. Can you imagine if it was just some guy wearing the same suit all the time? He’d get ID’ed right away.”

“Sounds like you put a lot of thought into this, Shaw.” 

“Actually, I considered something like it,” Shaw said, pulling on her sneakers. “Not much different from what I’m doing now, right? I’d still be saving people.”

“Yeah, but doctors have higher salaries than vigilantes,” Yang pointed out. “And higher life expectancies.”

“Which is why I’m the Chief of General Surgery at Mercy Gen.”

“Speaking of Gen, how’s she settling in? She seems like a tough kid; able to handle herself.”

“She’s doing really well. In fact, she’s coming over for dinner tonight with me and Roo-uh...“ Shaw stopped herself from finishing her sentence, but it was too late and Yang had already caught on.

“Ohhhhhhhhh, having family dinners with the little one now, huh? Did I miss the wedding invite? Never pegged you for the domestic type, Shaw.”

“Shut up, Yang! Root’s making dinner because I’ve been teaching her how to fight.”

“I’m sure you’re both getting a good workout either way - ow!” Yang rubbed her side where Shaw had just elbowed her and scowled.

Shaw’s phone started to ring and she checked the screen to see who was calling.

“It’s Root. Probably calling to make sure I’m still on time for dinner,” Shaw said, answering the call and holding the phone up to her ear.

“Oooohhhhhhh, your lady friend Root,” Yang teased as Shaw swatted her away.

“Hey Root, what’s - whoa!” Shaw pulled the phone away from her ear as the sound of sirens blared through the speaker. After a second, she gingerly brought the phone up to her ear, but kept it a safe distance away. “Root? What’s up? Are you stuck in traffic? I can hear sirens - was there a car accident blocking the way back?”

“Hello, is this Sameen Shaw?” An unfamiliar man’s voice came through the speaker.

Shaw froze. “Yes, this is Sameen Shaw. Who is this?”

Yang’s playful expression dropped when she saw the serious look in Shaw’s eyes and the change in her tone.

“Sameen, I’m here with Root. She’s been in a serious car accident, and we’re taking her to Mercy Gen right now.”

“Mercy Gen? I’m here at Mercy Gen right now.”

“You’re already there? Did someone else call you?”

“No, I’m a doctor here. How’s Root? Is she okay? What are her injuries?”

“She’s sustained a head injury and possibly minor injuries to her torso. She’s awake now and lucid.”

“What’s your ETA?”

“We’ll be there within the minute.”

Shaw stuffed her phone into her pocket and headed toward the door.

“Shaw! What happened?” Yang called, running to catch up.

“Root’s been in a car accident. Head trauma. She’s awake and lucid. They’re taking her here.” Shaw rattled off the information calmly as she took long strides towards the elevator. “Dammit!” She cursed, smashing the elevator call button. “Ah, fuck it.” She gave up and rushed towards the stairs, with Yang close behind her.

They reached the ambulance dock just as Root’s ambulance arrived. Shaw jumped into the ambulance as soon as the doors swung open and took a quick surveying scan of Root on the stretcher.

“Hey sweetie. Did you miss me?” Root flirted.

“Now’s not the time, Root,” Shaw said tersely as the paramedics lifted the stretcher up and onto a gurney waiting outside the ambulance.

“Can’t a couple of gals catch up over some life threatening injuries?”

“Life threatening my ass. You’re gonna make it through this, Root.” Shaw said, running alongside the gurney as it was being wheeled into the hospital.

“Has anyone paged neuro?” Shaw yelled, keeping her eyes fixed on Root’s.

“I’m neuro! I’m here!” One of the doctors shouted, making her way to the gurney. “So, who have we got he-whoa! Oh my god, it’s Dr. Groves!”

Shaw glared at the wide-eyed doctor. “Who are you?”

“I-I’m the attending neurosurgeon,” she stammered.

“ _You’re_ the attending neurosurgeon?” Shaw eyed the nervous doctor. “What are you - nineteen?”

“I’m twenty-seven, ma’am.”

“What’s your name?”

“Alexandra Grey, ma’am.”

“Lexie!” Root exclaimed from the stretcher. “I’m so glad it’s you! You’re the only one here that I can trust with this procedure on my brain. Well, aside from myself, but I’m not really in the position to operate on myself right now.”

Lexie chuckled nervously, but then caught Shaw’s eye and cleared her throat awkwardly. “Uh - ahem. Pr-procedure?”

“Oh for fuckssake, Grey. Are you going to get her killed?”

“N-no, Dr. Shaw," Lexie said defensively, "I just haven’t been briefed on Dr. Groves’ condition yet.”

“Blunt force trauma to the head, fixed dilated pupil, brief period of unconsciousness followed by currently a period of lucidity.”

Lexie nodded. “Possible epidural hematoma,” she said seriously.

“Yeah,” Root agreed. “Order a CT scan, and prep me for a craniotomy.”

“I need a CT scan and an OR prepped for a craniotomy!” Lexie shouted out. She turned to Shaw. “Dr. Shaw, we need to get Dr. Groves a CT scan and into an OR right away. If we leave this for too long, it could be fatal.”

“I’ll scrub in,” Shaw insisted.

Root chuckled. “You’ll be useless, Sam. Neurosurgery isn’t your specialty.”

“I did a rotation on neuro before choosing my specialty,” Shaw argued.

“Dr. Shaw,” Chief Carter’s commanding voice interrupted. “I think it would be best if you stayed out of the OR.”

“Come on, Chief. What - you think I’ll get all emotional just because Root is my-uh, my neighbor? You of all people should know that I don’t get emotional. Ever. Especially in the OR.”

“I know,” Carter said. “I’m keeping you out of the OR so that you don’t scare Dr. Grey to death before she can get to operating on Dr. Groves.”

Shaw looked over at Lexie, who shrugged her shoulders meekly. “Oh.”

“Damn right. Dr. Grey is a brilliant neurosurgeon and smart as a whip. You’d know that if you didn’t scare away everyone in this hospital but Yang. Now get your behind into the lounge. Take Yang to keep you company.”

Shaw looked down at Root in the gurney. “You’ll be fine.” She turned to Lexie. “She’s gonna be fine - right, Grey?”

“Yes ma’am!”

“Stop calling me that.”

“Sorry. Yes, Dr. Shaw.”

Root smiled up at Shaw. “I’m sorry we didn’t get a chance to make that steak dinner. Maybe someday after I’ve recovered from surgery?”

Shaw nodded. “Yeah, Root. Maybe someday.”

Shaw stood watching as the OR nurses came and rushed Root off to get a CT scan.

Yang appeared next to her and they continued watching until the stretcher was wheeled out of sight.

“Don’t worry, Shaw, McBrainy’s gonna be just fine. Grey is a good surgeon. I’ve worked with her before. Her brother-in-law is one of the best neurosurgeons in the country, and he was her attending during her residency.”

Shaw nodded. Her stomach felt like it had twisted itself into knots - a feeling that she had never experienced in her life, and a feeling that she decided she didn’t like. She called Fusco to tell him what happened, and she and Yang headed up to the attending’s lounge to wait for news on Root's surgery.

....

“It’s been five hours,” Shaw huffed, bursting through the door of the attending’s lounge. “I’ve made my rounds. Twice. My patients were beginning to think that I was circling because they were close to death.” She pulled her stethoscope from around her neck and shoved it into the pocket of her lab coat.

“They _are_ close to death, that’s why they’re here. No one is safe,” Yang said, scribbling onto her crossword puzzle.

Shaw raised an eyebrow.

Yang shrugged. “Just being pragmatic.”

Shaw plopped down on the couch next to Yang. “Anyway, I’ll get notified as soon as she’s out. I bribed Milhouse to stand guard outside the OR and page me as soon as the surgery is over.”

“What did you bribe him with?”

“Threats.”

Yang snorted. “I almost feel sorry for the guy. Almost.” She furrowed her brow at the crossword puzzle in front of her. “Hey Shaw, wanna help me with this crossword? A bunch of these are about pop culture, and since I don’t own a TV or a computer, I’m pretty much useless.”

Shaw shrugged. “Yeah, sure.”

“Great. Eight letters; Cosima Niehaus has a tattoo of this on her wrist. So, for a robot, you seem to be pretty concerned about Root.”

“Nautilus. I’m concerned about a fellow _coworker_.”

“Seven letters; Pink Floyd song, ‘Welcome to the _____'. You weren’t that concerned when I was impaled by an icicle that one time. If I recall correctly, you told me to ‘walk it off’.”

“Machine. It didn’t hit any organs, and was pretty much just a flesh wound. You were never in danger of dying.”

“So you think Root is in danger of dying? Nine letters; biblical reference, someone who selflessly helps others in need is a good ____.”

“Samaritan. Well if I remember correctly, any kind of hemorrhaging in the brain can be fatal if not treated correctly or immediately.”

“Well good thing she was rushed here right away, then. Six letters; Winnie the Pooh’s sad donkey friend.”

“Root.”

Yang shook her head. “Nope, that’s not right. Six letters, Shaw.”

“No, I just got a page from Milhouse. Root’s out of surgery.”

Yang put down her crossword. “Finally! Do you know which room she’s being taken to?”

The pager buzzed again, and Shaw checked the message. “Room 1458.”

“Well, what are you waiting for? Go get your girl!”

“She’s not my gir- wait, you’re not coming?”

“No. I’ve been here for close to twenty hours, and the last five hours was only because Chief Carter told me to keep an eye on you. I’m going home, I’m going to take a shower, and then I’m going to sleep.” Yang stuffed the crossword puzzle into her backpack and swung the strap over her shoulder. “Tell Root I said hi. I’ll see her tomorrow when I don’t smell like other people’s insides.”

Shaw nodded. “Fair enough.”

“You also smell like other people's insides, just FYI. See ya later.” Yang called over her shoulder as she left the lounge.

Shaw considered changing back into her regular clothes, but decided to check on Root right away. She made her way to room 1458 and arrived just as Lexie was leaving.

“Dr. Shaw,” Lexie smiled as she approached her. “Dr. Groves’ operation went well. It was a simple procedure, but it was also a really good thing that we operated right away. We drained the hematoma and removed the blood clot. She should be waking up soon, so I’ll check back in a little bit.”

Shaw nodded. “Thanks, Grey.”

“I’m glad I could help. Honestly, your girlfriend is amazing. She’s-“

“Not my girlfriend,” Shaw interrupted. 

Lexie paused. “Wh-she’s not? But you’re here. She called you. Plus, she talks about you all the time, like ‘Sameen is amazing’, and ‘Sameen is so strong’ and-“

“I’m gonna need you to stop talking, Grey. You’re way too bubbly for my taste - no offense.”

“Uh, none taken, Dr. Shaw,” Lexie stammered.

“Great. I’m gonna go check on Root now.”

“Yes ma’am - I mean - Dr. Shaw. I’m uh, I'm gonna leave now.” Lexie awkwardly turned on her heel and scurried away. 

Shaw smirked and shook her head, pushing open the door to Root’s room. 

Root lay quietly on her hospital bed, a bandage wrapped around her head where it had been cut open for the craniotomy. She was still asleep, but the anesthesia would be wearing off soon. Shaw stepped into the room and sat down in the chair next to Root’s bed. She surveyed Root for a few seconds and chuckled to herself.

“You know, this is the most quiet I’ve ever seen you,” she said to the still unconscious Root. “And even though it’s kind of refreshing, I actually don’t mind it too much when you talk. But I’m only telling you this because you’re unconscious. Once you wake up, I’ll be telling you to shut up every five minutes.”

Root stirred and furrowed her brows before slowly blinking open her eyes.

“Welcome back to the land of the living,” Shaw joked. “Looks like you passed your craniotomy with flying colors.”

Root slowly lifted her hand and gingerly touched her bandaged head. “Evidently,” she croaked in agreement, voice still hoarse from the anesthesia. She look over at Shaw and paused, flushing slightly. “Have to say I’m feeling kind of embarrassed. There’s a good looking doctor checking up on me, and I’m lying here looking like I’ve just been hit by a semi truck.”

“Well, you’re not wrong about that,” Shaw snorted. 

“I’d say something along the lines of ‘you should see the other guy’, but I’m afraid it might be in bad taste,” Root joked. 

“The other driver is fine; he made it out without a scratch, I heard.”

“Well I guess that makes _me_ the other guy, then,” Root chuckled. She looked around the room. “So, where is she? She should probably know that I'm awake now.”

“Dr. Grey? She should be back soon to check up on you. You were right; looks like she did a pretty good job.”

“That’s great to hear. But I’m talking about Hanna. She’s here, right? She knows I’m out of surgery?”

“Hanna?” Shaw asked, confused.

“Yeah,” Root said, “My girlfriend.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Funny thing, I was writing this chapter when I took a spill and sustained a minor head injury. I haven't been covered in so much (of my own) blood for a while. Anyway, I'm glad my friends forced me to wear a helmet while using my kick scooter, because otherwise I might have found myself in the same situation as Root. And this chapter would probably have not been posted for a while.


End file.
